President Trump held a press conference Tuesday afternoon surrounded by two empty chairs intended for Democrat leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who skipped out on the meeting.
Remarks from the Roosevelt Room with @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell, @SpeakerRyan and Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis. pic.twitter.com/lZMqK5jBvh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
Early Tuesday Trump tweeted he’d agreed to meet with Democrat leadership seeking a compromise on an upcoming spending bill hoping to avert a government shutdown. However, the president indicated Democrats’ open borders stance on immigration and taxes would need to be negotiated.
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
“Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!” Trump tweeted around 6AM Central.
By 9AM the liberal duo announced they were pulling out of the meeting, blaming the president’s tweet for the abrupt cancellation and conceding to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan instead, who declined the invitation.
Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
However, the pair’s cancellation did not phase Trump.
Amid reports of an intercontinental ballistic missile test from North Korea, the president held a press conference also addressing the Democrats’ absence from budget negotiations.
“We have a lot of differences,” Trump said, sat between two yellow chairs with placards reading “Minority Leader Chuck Schumer” and “Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.”
“So they’ve decided not to show up. They’ve been all talk and they’ve been no action and now it’s even worse. Now it’s not even talk.”
The president also stressed he would “absolutely blame the Democrats” in the event of a government shutdown.
Pelosi shot back that Trump was “more interested in stunts than in addressing the needs of the American people.”
.@realDonaldTrump now knows that his verbal abuse will no longer be tolerated. His empty chair photo opp showed he’s more interested in stunts than in addressing the needs of the American people. Poor Ryan and McConnell relegated to props. Sad!
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
In comments to the press, McConnell and Ryan said Democrats were putting government operations “at great risk” by refusing to meet with the president.
We have important work to do. There is a meeting at the White House this afternoon, and if Democrats want to reach an agreement on these issues, they will be there. https://t.co/lvmvzPLAGF pic.twitter.com/9XhzjrLuKv
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 28, 2017
“Democrats are putting government operations, particularly resources for our men and women on the battlefield, at great risk by pulling these antics,” McConnell and Ryan wrote in a joint statement. “There is a meeting at the White House this afternoon, and if Democrats want to reach an agreement, they will be there.”
In a follow-up statement from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House accused Pelosi and Schumer of “pettiness” and “political grandstanding.”
“The president’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work,” a statement from Sanders said. “These issues are too important.”
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